January 30 2013

3:45 PM

Last week, my one-and-done selection for the Farmers Insurance Open, Bubba Watson, withdrew shortly before his opening round. I don't include an alternate in this weekly feature, but I went with Nick Watney, who hadn't yet teed off.

If your one-and-done format doesn't demand that you submit an alternate, then strongly suggest to the commissioner that it does. It doesn't seem like a big deal -- until you're the one taking the zero. Watney tied for fourth at Torrey Pines, proving that the alternate is valuable.

Watney also deserves a long look at this week's Waste Management Phoenix Open. Not only has he been playing great golf since the Fall Series, but he's he's 6-for-7 with top 25s in each of his last three appearances at TPC Scottsdale. His best finish was his most recent, a tie for fifth during a torrid stretch to begin the 2011 season.

If you've already exhausted him, then consider Jason Dufner or Rickie Fowler. Dufner lost in a playoff at TPC Scottsdale in 2011 and chased it with a tie for eighth last year. He also arrives this week on form off a pair of ninth-place ties on the European Tour's Desert Swing, but he's been on form for as long as anyone can recall.

Fowler has enjoyed similar success at TPC Scottsdale, surviving the cut in all four starts highlighted by a solo second in 2010 and a tie for 13th in 2011. More recently, after a tie for fourth at the World Challenge in December, he finished in a tie for sixth at Kapalua and Torrey Pines, the latter coming after an opening 77.

Both guys could be burned later, but I'm going to holster Dufner for a larger purse, perhaps a major. His consistency will come in handy down the road. Therefore, I'm going to ride Fowler this week, fulfilling the cliché of striking while the iron is hot.

Others that serve as possible accompaniments in two-man formats include Brian Gay and Brandt Snedeker. However, my advice is to save Snedeker for a larger purse.